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I have been doing stunt and power kites for awhile now and just recently got into single line stuff and line laundry. I have no idea what sort of lifting power the few singles I have can do and thought yall could help me. I have a Premier 36 sled, a smaller sled named Rainbow Sled kite (About a 21, I think. Its made by Go Fly a Kite), a 9 foot delta conyne, and a rok kite. What can each of these lift; about what size of laundry?

http://imgur.com/a/HO6Kc. Sorry for how dark they are, the shutter was set too quick and I didn't notice until all the kites were put back away.

I am looking into some kite laundry for a festival near my college this November and need to know what my stuff can comfortable lift in about 15-20 mph steady wind.

What something can lift if a little difficult to explain as there are still several factors.

The 36 sled should be able to lift a small child in 15-20mph winds. IMHO it's one of the best all around lifters made. It's construction is very good and it will fly great in 5-25mph winds. It's a work horse.

9 foot DC will lift a little but it's not a great lifter. It's very steady. I'd say a couple of smaller inflatables. It's a good kite though.

Rok in 15-20mph winds? Not my idea of a run time. But it also depends on the size. An 8 foot or bigger rok would probably be too much to handle in 15-20mph winds. Roks are good lifters as their bridles can be adjusted. However, the less angle to the wind/ground and they loose much of their lifting ability. More angle and they pull but don't have a lot of lift. I'd say a Rok would be about the same as the 9 foot DC but the size of the Rok makes a big difference.

Now I'm looking at the photos. The Rok is small and won't lift much. Maybe some short tails hooked on the kite line. The DC should be able to lift 1-2 inflatables or a few longer tails connected to the line. The sled should be able to lift pretty much anything you can connect to the line... at least in 15-20mph winds.

The difference with the octopus is that it's initial design was as a kite. The head provides some lift. Also, most of the length are thin tails. While they create drag, it's not near as much as the devil. I _suspect_ that the octopus being sold was designed as a kite but many of the "knock offs" don't fly. So this company is doing the right thing and selling it as line laundry. I've never flown that octopus but from the looks of it, this seems to be the case.

You will find that weight matters but what affects the flight of the kite just as much if not more is the drag of the line laundry. Think about this... when something on the line is blown downwind, what happens to the kite line and kite? Since they are tied to the ground they get pulled downwind and down. That devil is going to have a ton of drag. The octopus is going to get some lift from the head.

I'd certainly get 500# for the sled if being flown in winds above 15mph. I've flown the 36 sled in WY with 30mph winds on 500# line. I was really surprised that it did not break but it held all day. What I was really doing in that situation is just waiting for the line to break... not something normally done.

The difference with the octopus is that it's initial design was as a kite. The head provides some lift. Also, most of the length are thin tails. While they create drag, it's not near as much as the devil. I _suspect_ that the octopus being sold was designed as a kite but many of the "knock offs" don't fly. So this company is doing the right thing and selling it as line laundry. I've never flown that octopus but from the looks of it, this seems to be the case.

yep, this is the chinese 'copy'** of a peter lynn octopus.....this cannot fly on its own from what i have heard....it will provide extremely little lift but a whole lot of drag instead......the head is not flat - mostly a big football shape....

** i say that with hesitation as there were total flat out bad copies of the Lynn Octopus....this one is not as much of a copy anymore but a different soft ripstop octo......

That makes a lot of sense. Reason you have probably never seen it is that they are based out of singapore. Even with the exorbitant 50$+ shipping costs they are still generally cheaper than say Peter Lynn or Gomberg.

I figured that much just from highschool physics, haa.

Dallas Area Kitefliers Organisation are doing one last fun fly this weekend before we lose all of our wind for the season. I just called our local kite shop and asked him to bring some line out there. Haa, that doesn't seem like something to do normally, what made you want to?

What other line laundry would you suggest for a poor college student with a budget of about 200$? The octopus is great, but it seems like every other guy has one. Its a last resort if I can't find a similar price vs size. I'm ordering whatever I decide October 1st for a kite festival November the 9th in Corpus Christi

one of the ways that the chinese webshops are offering up big pieces at lower prices is the material the things are made out of sometimes are not coated (so the are porous and do not inflate at all) and/or just super crappy fabric....

There are lots of things you can do as line laundry....anything that is a kite tail/tube/spinner will work....what sort of things do you like?

if you go wander in fleebay you might come across some used big pieces being sold off at good prices...also the kite classified website (see in the right hand scrolling bar) might have some in there....

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